


Thoughts on a plane

by BeautifulNight2drinkTequila



Category: The X-Files
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-29
Updated: 2020-02-29
Packaged: 2021-02-28 01:20:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,190
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22955530
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BeautifulNight2drinkTequila/pseuds/BeautifulNight2drinkTequila
Summary: During Fight the Future, after Mulder shows up at Scully's apartment drunk in the middle of the night
Relationships: Fox Mulder/Dana Scully
Comments: 3
Kudos: 26





	1. Chapter 1

SCULLY

Are you drunk, Mulder?

MULDER

I ... I ... I was until about 20 minutes ago, yeah.

SCULLY

Was that before or after you decided to come here?

Mulder looks at her curiously.

MULDER

What exactly are you implying?

Fight The Future (1998)

written by Chris Carter

\---------------

Their words kept replaying in her mind, as she fixed her partners sleeping form next to her with a searching glance. Of course she had followed his request to get dressed, but as they boarded their flight to Dallas exhaustion and the result of what she could tell by the fumes radiating of his body must have been some high proof liquor, had taken its toll. So the promised explanation hadn’t happened, as his passed out form awkwardly folded into the seat next to her.

It seemed strangely fitting, them together on a plane, going on some unexplained hunch, while the wheels were set in motion to change her life possibly forever. 

What would she have been doing right this minute, if she hadn't answered his siren call? When had she become such a spectator in her own life, and how could she break this cycle without destroying everything that now constitutes her life and what was important to her?

A part of her almost wanted him to stumble drunk into her apartment due to some uninhabited primal need, something tangible and real. 

She felt a slight twinge of guilt, as she imagined for a moment what it would feel like to touch her lips to his beautiful mouth, feel his hands on her skin as she pressed her body into his. But after indulging this fantasy she silently admonished herself for such a selfish wish, to be seen, needed and desired. 

Had he ever thought of her in this way? Sometimes she felt sure that his looks lingered after she turned to walk away. He acted jealous and territorial at times, so his reaction to her question surprised her. Surely she was not completely out of line suggesting an ulterior motive after he stumbled into her apartment at 3 am. 

How did he view her, she wondered. His capable partner, smart and rational, unflappable by gore and corpses, tidy and polished… how fitted did her suits have to get in order for him to see her as a woman?

It was almost insulting how surprised he was after the disaster in Philadelphia. That she could catch the eye of a stranger, go on a date, get a tattoo and have a one night stand. And in true Mulder fashion he rejected any possible scenario where any of it was because it was exactly what she'd wanted. It had to be about him and a desk. 

She smiled to herself, shaking her head slightly. Why did her mind wander back to that argument? What was going on with her?

Mulder startled her as he shifted in his seat. She should focus on what was happening now. The bomb in Dallas was in a way the catalyst to a much larger explosion, one that threatened to suck them both into its path of destruction. What had happened in that meeting after she was left standing aimlessly in the hallway, the look of disbelief on his face haunting her? It couldn’t have been good, judging from his rumpled, tequila-soaked appearance. Was this a desperate attempt on his part to get her to reconsider? 

Why were they going back to Dallas?


	2. Chapter 2

Mulder shifted uncomfortably in his seat, as his brain tried to catch up with everything that had happened in the last 24 hours. His head was pounding and he was not sure how he had talked Scully into accompanying him without so much as an explanation. He squeezed his eyes shut as his thoughts were racing. 

The hearing was a disaster, and he couldn’t remember for the life of him what had made him late in the first place. What had Scully told the panel, and what had she meant by saying “they” weren’t the ones splitting them up. Was she hoping for a reassignment, a fresh start, without him? 

He cringed inwardly at the memory of him launching into his paranoid ramble about himself and what he assumed was being done to him. All he could think about was how defeated and discouraged Scully had looked. They needed to talk about what had happened, but part of him was afraid of what she would say.

And maybe she deserved to be free of him and the chaos that seemed to reign in his work, life and everything he touches. He needed her, and it was frustrating to be so close to answers just to find her slipping through his fingers. Would he win this battle just to lose the war? 

And what was implied in her question about his state of sobriety when he decided to pick her up at her apartment? Lately he’s been very confused about their relationship, especially now that Diana was back in DC. There were times in the past where he had wondered what would happen if she’d ever returned, but now it seemed to just be a pointless struggle to defend Diana in conversations with Scully, who had taken an uncharacteristic dislike to her. 

If he didn’t know any better, he’d almost think Scully was jealous, but the thought alone was ridiculous. Scully was way out of his league in so many ways, and deserved so much more than what he could offer her. There had been moments where he had felt a spark or a connection beyond their friendship, but since neither of them had pursued it, he assumed it just wasn’t in the cards for them. Besides, they worked together and he was anxious to avoid past mistakes.

But he’d be lying if he claimed that the fantasy of her waking up in his arms, of them spending the day wrapped up in his sheets and each other had never entered his mind. But he’d always felt terrible afterwards, like he took advantage or disrespected her in some way. And if he would ever show up to her house for the reasons she implied, he would do it sober, and he would do it right. She was his true north and even though he didn’t like to admit it, she steadied him in a way he had never experienced before. 

He stretched again in a desperate attempt to get comfortable and bumped knees with Scully, startling them both.

“How are you feeling?” she asked, as she thoughtfully lowered the shade of the window. 

“I’ve had better days.” he quipped, trying to avoid looking at her.

“You want to tell me why we’re flying to Dallas when I have to be back in DC for a meeting in less than 36 hours?” Scully asked.

Shit. He’d forgotten about that part in the rush of the information Dr. Kurtzweil provided, and everything it implied. They would deal with her meeting later, maybe even be able to provide some answers to help explain what had happened. They were so close, he could feel it. 

Everything else they would face together.

**Author's Note:**

> The idea for this came to me during one of my long and rambling conversations with my dear friend @theQueerwriter, and it's meant as a thank you for our wonderful friendship and her support.  
> Also, I am in desperate need of a beta, and since you made it this far, you already know. If you're interested, hit me up on twitter @dancingaboutar3 or email closetoptimist1@gmail.com.  
> All feedback is welcome and appreciated. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I writing it.
> 
> xxxx Kat


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